MSc Defense – Isabelly Annunciato

Many congratulations to Isabelly Annunciato for successfully defending her MSc thesis in Toxicology with the title “Evaluation of acute hepatic toxicity and inflammation induced by nitrosamines in Mus musculus and Danio rerio” (June 26th 2024). Isabelly’s MSc thesis was conducted under the supervision of Dr. Marcos Hikari Toyama (BIOMOLPEP, UNESP, Brazil) and Sérgio F. Sousa (BioSIM).

This research brought new insights into the toxicological effects of emerging contaminants, focusing on N-Nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA) and N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA). The study investigated biochemical, histological, and hematological impacts in both mouse and zebrafish models, with markers such as lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), liver enzymes (ALT, AST), and inflammatory cytokines. Notably, in vitro and computational simulations (Molecular Docking and Molecular Dynamics) at BioSIM revealed the interactions between nitrosamines and key enzymes in Land’s Cycle, identifying significant hepatotoxic potential and their role in cellular oxidative stress. 

This work highlights the strong collaboration between the BIOMOLPEP laboratory in Brazil and BioSIM in Portugal, combining expertise in toxicology and computational simulation to advance our understanding of nitrosamine-induced liver toxicity. This research was funded by grants 2023/01973-4 and 2022/04772-7 from the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP).